Reliance buys New York hotel for $98 m

New Delhi: Mandarin Oriental New York, the premium luxury hotel a subsidiary of Reliance Industries is acquiring, is known for its much-in-demand ballroom, five-star spa and eating and drinking venues, including MO Lounge. Liam Neeson and Lucy Liu are among regular guests.

Set up in 2003, 248-rooms-and-suites hotel towering over Central Park is an iconic luxury hotel located at 80 Columbus Circle, directly adjacent to the pristine Central Park and Columbus Circle.

Mandarin Oriental New York occupies floors 35-54 and is known for its much-indemand ballroom, five-star spa and eating and drinking venues, including MO Lounge.

“Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited (RIIHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (“RIL”), has today, entered into an agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Columbus Centre Corporation (Cayman), a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands and the indirect owner of a 73.37 per cent stake in Mandarin Oriental New York, one of the premium luxury hotels in New York City for an equity consideration of approximately $98.15 million,” the firm said in a stock exchange filing late on Saturday.

This is the second acquisition of an iconic hotel by Reliance in less than a year. In April last year, Reliance acquired Stoke Park Ltd in the UK - an iconic locale that’s been the setting for two James Bond films. The two iconic locales add to its current stake in Oberoi hotels and hotel/managed residences in Mumbai that it’s developing.

The latest marquee acquisition for the oilto- telecom and retail conglomerate marks its pivot toward consumer offerings. Flush with Rs 2.6 lakh crore in cash, Ambani is helming a transformation as he seeks to build the digital and retail business into equalsized pillars for Reliance, paring dependence on profits from its traditional oil refining business. Over the past five years, Reliance has announced $5.7 billion in acquisitions with 45 per cent in TMT and 23.6 per cent in new energy. The closing of the Mandarin transaction is anticipated to occur by the end of March 2022 and is subject to certain customary regulatory and other approvals and the satisfaction of certain other conditions. -(PTI)